Š2015 Museum Associates Los Angeles County Museum of Art 5905 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Editors: Pilar Tompkins Rivas and Hilary Walter Designer: Pilar Tompkins Rivas Unless otherwise noted, all photos Š2015 Museum Associates/LACMA
The 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (June 14-19, 2015) is a component of the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship program. The Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program is made possible by the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Mario Almaraz Magy Awad Canan Cem Hugo Cervantes Alexandra Taylor Henry Mia Lewis Kathya Lopez Katrina Sarah Miller
Audrey Min Kyla Rhynes Daniela Ruano Orantes Jessika Ruiz Yeonju (Iphigenia) Seong Jolin Tran Penelope Uribe-Abee
We are proud to present Transcending Self: Selections from LACMA’S Permanent Collection, the capstone of the 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The Summer Academy, which is a foundational component of the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship program, is generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. LACMA has taken a leadership role in launching the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship program, and is pleased to partner with four other American art museums in an effort to diversify the curatorial ranks of American art museums. An impressive cohort of fifteen freshman or sophomore students currently enrolled at colleges, universities, and community colleges throughout Southern California, with an expressed interest in art, art history, or the museum field, were selected and financially supported to participate in this one-week behind-the-scenes program. The students, many of whom had never worked in an art museum, were able to gain access to professionals in the field and learn about the curatorial process in art institutions. LACMA’s 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy offered the students a rich experience in the museum environment with workshops, tours, field trips, and networking events with museum professionals. During the immersive program, the students, who had only recently met, curated an exhibition together based on objects from LACMA’s world class, encyclopedic collection. In this role, the students were able to apply their art historical knowledge to the exhibition’s organization and wrote the exhibition-related texts, which can be found in this catalogue. The students met with LACMA curators during tours of exhibitions, allowing them to gain insight into the role and career path of a curator. An off-site field trip to the University of Southern California’s Pacific Asia Museum exposed the students to an art collection, with objects similar to LACMA’s Chinese and Korean Art department, in a smaller institution, and the group visited the artist John Valadez’s studio and learned about his impressive career. In addition, the Summer Academy allowed students to meet with a wide range of museum staff and learn about career options related to art and art history. As a result of the Summer Academy experience, the participating students have gained first-hand knowledge of the curatorial process at LACMA. The program has been a success due to the extraordinary skills and experiences each student contributed to the week. We look forward to following each student’s career path, and being able to say, ‘we knew them when’.
Hilary Walter Coordinator of Curatorial Fellowships Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Pilar Tompkins Rivas Coordinator of Curatorial Initiatives Los Angeles County Museum of Art
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Transcending Self: Selections from LACMA’S Permanent Collection is the result of a collaboration between fifteen undergraduates participating in the Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Drawing from the museum’s collections of Art of the Ancient Americas, Chinese and Korean Art, Greek and Roman Art, Egyptian Art, European Painting, Latin American Art, Art of the Pacific, and South and Southeast Asian Art, the exhibition presents a thematic grouping of works spanning centuries, regions and artistic movements. After surveying 50 works in the museum’s holdings, the young scholars engaged in a curatorial workshop to cull concepts and themes that bridge these diverse objects, narrowing the selection to fifteen works linked around a central concern. This exercise exposed the Summer Academy participants to various aspects of the curatorial process, while emphasizing a close investigation and study of the artworks themselves. This exhibition investigates the nature of transcendence and its articulation through visual narratives, a theme that itself transcends time and space. The show is divided into several states of awareness, such as: reflection, introspection, continuation, transformation and liberation. These categories became interrelated avenues for examining permanent collection works that reference similar subjects. The works are organized in the gallery in an order that creates a narrative story for the viewer around the sub-themes. The Grotto of Neptune in Trivoli is hung at the entrance to the gallery, forming a portal through which viewers enter from a darken cave into the light beyond. Upon entering the gallery, the audience sees their own reflection in the Presentation Mirror, becoming an object in the show. The second sub-theme, introspection, is revealed by works focused on contemplative moments. The fluid boundaries between life and death are portrayed in the third grouping of works around continuation. Next, four religious works illustrate rituals or deities either in the act of or causing transformation. Finally, The Drunken Dance hints at the jovial state of liberation, and brings the viewers full circle to the light that was first encountered in the initial piece.
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Johann Martin von Rohden The Grotto of Neptune in Tivoli (1812) Oil on canvas 27 1/4 x 33 1/2 in. (69.22 x 85.09 cm); Framed: 36 1/2 x 43 1/8 x 3 1/4 in. (92.71 x 109.54 x 8.26 cm) Purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost through the 2001 Collectors Committee and Neal Castleman and Ellen Hoffman-Castleman by exchange M.2001.71
The artist captures the viewer’s eye immediately with his striking play on natural light. Behind the cavernous, darkly shadowed walls of the grotto emerges a splash of bright white ocean foam, accented by sharp rays from the sun above. As a German artist familiar with traversing the foreign landscapes of Italy, von Rhoden provokes viewers to visually transcend a space of darkness through a natural portal and reflect on what may lie just beyond.
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Giuseppe Antonio Gianotti Presentation Frame (circa 1785) Pearwood, exotic woods, mirror, glass, brass 17 3/4 x 12 1/16 in. (45 x 30.5 cm) Gift of the 1994 Collectors Committee AC1994.33.1.1-.2
This elaborate carved frame illustrates a union of two royal kingdoms. In the middle of the cresting are the arms of Charles Emmanuel IV, Prince of Piedmont, and Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière, sister of Louis XVI of France. Along the borders, decorative laurel and oak leaves surround military trophies. The mirror reflects the emergence of two people but also of two kingdoms. The frame reflects their history but the mirror also reflects the viewer.
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Italy, Ostia or Rome The Hope Athena (2nd century A.D. Roman copy after a Greek Original of the 5th century B.C.) Marble 86 x 28 x 22 1/2 in. (218.44 x 71.12 x 57.15 cm) William Randolph Hearst Collection 51.18.12
Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and reason is depicted in this marble sculpture from the 2nd century AD. Standing in classical contrapposto, with weight rested on her right side, Athena wears a himation, a heavy wrap from the Hellenistic period. Her helmet and crown are decorated with sphinx and griffins and upon her breastplate lays the Aegis Medusa, whose gorgons are known to turn whomever caught their gaze to stone.
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Georges de la Tour The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame, c. 1638-1640 Oil on canvas Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation M.77.73
A young Mary Magdalene sits alone in a dimly lit space gazing at a burning candle emblematic of God's spiritual light. She is contemplating His teachings and sacrifice. The knotted rope is symbolic of her penitence for her sins, and the skull suggest the transient nature of life and the immortality of the soul. Use of light and dark (chiaroscuro) tonalities creates a somber and meditative mood, allowing the viewer to reflect upon one’s own mortality.
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Wu Li Reciting Poetry before the Yellowing of Autumn (Qing dynasty, 1674) Hanging scroll, ink on paper 104 1/2 x 32 in. (265.43 x 81.28 cm) Los Angeles County Fund 56.18
Known as one of the six famous masters of the Qing Dynasty, Wu Li creates a landscape with densely textured mountains and dynamic trees that lead the eye upwards towards the dominant peak. Li dedicated the work to his teacher, who is depicted along with three other people in this composition. Throughout this upward journey, the artist helps us escape our urban lifestyle and appreciate the beauty and transformative power of nature.
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Felipe Santiago GutiĂŠrrez Portrait of a Woman with a Marigold (Retrato de dama con XĂşchil), 1876 Oil on canvas Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California M.2013.130.2
In a contemplative state, the subject of this painting holds both a flower in her hand and a child in her womb. The more visible token, the Marigold, represents death in Aztec and present day Mexican culture. Gutierrez uses symbols of new life and death to perhaps draw on the duality of our existence. This portrait of everyday life captures a mind wandering in a passive state while thinking about charged and serious subject matter.
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Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn The Raising of Lazarus (circa 1630-1632) Oil on wood 37 15/16 x 32 in. (96.36 x 81.28 cm) Gift of H. F. Ahmanson and Company, in memory of Howard F. Ahmanson M.72.67.2
The Raising of Lazarus is Rembrandt's earliest and most striking painting depicting a biblical subject. He positions the main characters in the form of a triangle, giving the scene stability. Jesus raises his right hand to command Lazarus, who is in the tomb below, to come forth. Mary Magdalene, the main figure in the group of witnesses at the left, acts as a substitute for the viewer's own enthralled response to the miracle.
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Egypt, likely Thebes Coffin (mid-21st Dynasty (about 1000 - 968 BCE)) Wood, overlaid with gesso and polychrome decoration and yellow varnish Base: 73 3/4 x 21 1/2 x 13 in. (187.33 x 54.61 x 33.02 cm); Outer Lid: 74 1/4 x 21 3/4 x 14 in. (188.59 x 55.24 x 35.56 cm); Inner Lid: 69 1/8 x 16 5/8 x 4 1/4 in. (175.58 x 42.23 x 10.79 cm) Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. John Jewett Garland M.47.3a-c
Ancient Egyptians were firm believers in life after death. This coffin served as an instructional handbook that told the deceased how to successfully navigate the afterworld. On the surface of the lid are vivid hieroglyphic illustrations that help warn about the dangers of the hereafter, while the Egyptian Goddess Isis sits in the center, guarding the coffin into a safe journey. Although most coffins are named, the owner of this one remains a mystery.
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John Henry Fuseli (Johann Heinrich Fussli) Satan and Death with Sin Intervening, 1799-1800 Oil on canvas Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick N. Nicholas, Mr. and Mrs. Harry B. Swerdlow and Mr. and Mrs. William K. Glikbarg 59.56
In this graphic illustration of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, the luminescent figure of Satan draws his weapon, prepared to advance upon the ghostly figure that is Death. Before the blow he is stopped by Sin, the opaque visage of a woman with dogs and serpents sprouting fourth from the waist below. This painting reflects an antithesis of the Holy Trinity as sin attempts to unite the two opposing forces.
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Guatemala, Southern Lowlands Vessel with Underworld Scene (400-800) Carved and incised ceramic Diameter: 7 1/4 in. (18.415 cm); 8 3/10 x 7 x 7 1/2 in. (21.082 x 17.78 x 19.05 cm) Anonymous gift M.2010.115.729
The barrel shape of this vessel denotes an association with important occasions such as birth, death, or ascesion. In Mayan belief systems, the earthly realm has two counterparts: celestial and underwater. The dense and deeply carved vessel depicts the watery realm (Xibalba), featuring both underworld and sun deities. Together they preside over transcendental rituals and the fluidity of life-changing events. The waving water lilies and quatrefoil motifs indicate a portal to transformation.
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Mexico, Basin of Mexico Male Figure in Guise of Xipe Totec (1400-1521) Basalt Height: 24 3/4 in. (62.87 cm) Gift of Constance McCormick Fearing AC1996.146.57
This basalt (volcanic rock) sculpture represents Xipe Totec, the Aztec god of nature and regeneration. His name means “Our Lord the Flayed One,” and worshipers would create a costume by using the flayed skin from a sacrificial victim and sew it onto a priest. The priest would wear the skin until it rotted away, representing the emergence of spring. The theme of transcendence is suggested through the sculpture’s allegory of emergence from death to life.
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Shiva as the Lord of Dance India, Tamil Nadu, c. 950-1000 Copper alloy Anonymous gift M.75.1
Shiva performs the dance of creation and destruction, corresponding to his duties as the restorer and destroyer of the universe. The ring of fire around him refers to the cycle of existence. He has dreadlocks, which come undone in a fan shape around his head, suggesting ongoing movement and force. His four arms emphasize his supernatural qualities. What better way to put his power of destruction into play than by stepping on the dwarf of ignorance?
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Korea Seated Buddha (Goryeo dynasty, 10th century) Cast iron 25 1/4 × 20 × 18 in. (64.14 × 50.8 × 45.72 cm) Gift of the 2013 Collectors Committee M.2013.44
Seated Buddha depicts the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment. He wears an expression of serenity and humility, an attitude manifested in the sacred gesture (mudra) of his right hand, with which he invites the earth at his feet to recognize his accomplishment. The grid-like seams on the sculpture’s body from the iron casting process give the piece an almost contemporary industrial aesthetic and contrast with the curved lines of his robe and torso.
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Dance Headdress Papua New Guinea, New Britain, c. 1880 Wood, fiber, bark strips, shell, cassowary feathers, and pigment Purchased with funds provided by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation with additional funding by Jane and Terry Semel, the David Bohnett Foundation, Camilla Chandler Frost, Gayle and Edward P. Roski and The Ahmanson Foundation M.2008.66.5
This headdress, recognizable as Sulka (a New Guinean culture) by its conical base and originally vibrant coloring, is meant to be seen in movement. Created over months in secrecy by Sulka men, it towers over viewers while worn in ceremonial dances commemorating life transitions such as initiation, marriage, or death. The figure transforms into the spirit ancestors it represents in dance, transforming the wearer in turn through their divine powers. Afterwards, the headdress is destroyed.
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Zhang Daqian The Drunken Dance (1943) Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper Image: 32 3/4 x 16 1/8 in. (83.19 x 40.96 cm); Mount: 74 1/2 x 21 1/2 in. (189.23 x 54.61 cm); Roller: 23 1/2 in. (59.69 cm) Gift of Murray Smith M.91.213
In this painting by Zhang Daqian, a local dancer as she enjoys the freedom of her performance. She sways in an elegant robe that is worn halfheartedly; her sleeve is hanging and hat is crooked. Her arms are raised as she moves to the rhythm of her drunken songs without the concerns of spilling her goblet. She dances to the joy and freedom of life.
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(L-R) Michael Govan, Katrina Sarah Miller, Yeonju (Iphigenia) Seong, Penelope Uribe-Abee, Magy Awad, Hugo Cervantes, Daniela Ruano Orantes, Mario Almaraz, Jolin Tran, Audrey Min, Alexandra Taylor Henry, Mia Lewis, Kathya Lopez, Kyla Rhynes, Canan Cem, and Jessika Ruiz
Mario Almaraz is a studio art major at Whittier College. Born and raised in Lincoln Heights near East Los Angeles gave him the opportunity to participate and attend art classes at Plaza de La Raza, a cultural art center for art and education. He has also volunteered at Self Help Graphics where he helped out with the face painting section in their annual Dia De Los Muertos event. At Whittier College, he has completed 500 hours of volunteering service with Jumpstart, an organization that helps under privileged preschool children. Currently, he works as Professor Danny Jauregui’s art assistant. His job consists of completing drawing projects in addition to the collecting and inputting of data for a larger project his professor is currently working on. After taking art history courses at Whittier, Mario’s interest in becoming a curator increased. He hopes to create an art environment that includes the East Los Angeles culture.
Nuestras Raices he developed a passion for the arts and his Latino community. He volunteers at St.Francis Catholic church in South Los Angeles teaching ballet folklorico classes to promote Mexican culture and higher education in his community. His Mexican heritage and experience in community arts leads his academic career of being a scholar and educator. He currently studies at University of California, Riverside as an English and art history double major. He volunteers at Human Resources-Los Angeles (HRLA), a grassroots space in Chinatown, with a diverse program of experimental music, exhibitions, and an emphasis on performance introducing him to the practice of inclusion and collaboration within diverse communities of color. He would like to reflect these curatorial practices onto bigger institutions to create inclusive and collaborative spaces where all communities can feel safe to exist and to grow.
Magy Awad is currently a student in Santa Monica College (SMC). She was born in Egypt and moved to Los Angeles in 2005. During her senior year of high school, she traveled with her art history and Museum Studies class to Europe and visited many cathedrals and museums. Her interest in art history began when she took Byzantine art in SMC and realized that her religion's art (Coptic Orthodox Christianity) is due to Byzantine art reaching the Middle East. She will be transferring to the University of California in Los Angeles this fall and will double major in Psychology and art history. She plans to earn a PhD in art history after she graduates in two years.
Alexandra Taylor Henry is a local Los Angeles resident currently attending Loyola Marymount University as an English and Studio Arts double major. Plenty of experience has been given to her through exploration into different aspects of the fine arts. She’s a member of the International Thespian Society and has received two awards from the London Academy of Music and Art which have both worked towards helping her create a strong foundation. Having volunteered the past four summers at an educational non-profit learning facility, The Motivational Institute, she’s developed her passion for educating others and hopes to continue in the future.
Canan Cem is studying for her B.A. in art history with a minor in Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She returned to college after several years in the work force occupying diverse roles such as account executive, graphic artist, and photographer. During this time she gained invaluable experience in areas of entertainment, marketing, promotions, and product development. Canan plans to focus her studies on Mediterranean identities, particularly the island of Cyprus, a place full of exciting art, architecture, and archaeology in need of preservation and awareness. This is the inspiration for her future career in field research, exhibition curating, and teaching.
Mia Lewis is a local Los Angeles resident and arts high school graduate currently studying in the World Arts and Cultures Department at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During her senior year of high school, she interned at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where she was exposed to unique curatorial approaches and drafted educational tours that could engage all audiences. At UCLA, she serves as a representative for the World Arts and Cultures Undergraduate Society, and is now in the process of planning more inclusive performance opportunities for students. She continually draws from her background in dance, choreography, performance studies, and art history to challenge conventional methods of presenting art. After graduating, she plans to pursue a career in arts outreach in order to foster the appreciation and creation of diverse, innovative works from all communities.
Hugo Cervantes was born in Jalisco, Mexico and moved to Los Angeles when he was two years old. Growing up in Gardena, California he was introduced to Nuestras Raices, a ballet folklorico group that promotes Mexican heritage and higher education through dance and the arts. Through
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Kathya Lopez is from Los Angeles and currently attends Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. She was previously a high school intern at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art during her senior year. She was able to learn about how to give tours and gave tours to middle school and high school students of the Football: The Beautiful Game exhibit. With this experience she and her fellow interns were also able to help plan the museum's Teen Night. She plans to major in Art History and minor either in Latin American Studies or Neuroscience. Katrina Sarah Miller was raised in London, England and West Palm Beach, Florida. As an intern for Organizing for America, President Obama's official grassroots organization, she developed a passion for sociopolitical art due to the impact she saw art had in her neighborhood. At the University of Southern California (USC), Katrina studies Comparative Literature with a double minor in Art History and Business Finance. She has been a photographer for the Daily Trojan newspaper and Black Student Assembly and a gallery assistant at Sonce Alexander Gallery where she was in charge of media operations for the gallery. As a Director of the Performing Arts Committee at USC, she has participated in organizing large scale arts events on campus in addition to creating and managing the weekly Arts Incubator meeting which introduces students to new forms of art and allows them the opportunity to create art themselves. She is also a LA Youth Poet Ambassador and the Say Word LA 2015 Grand Slam Champion. Audrey Min is a second-year History major, art history minor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As an officer in the UCLA Art Science Undergraduate Society she has worked toward fostering communication between the arts and the sciences on campus by helping plan and promote a yearly gallery showcase of members' artwork. She is excited to learn about the curatorial field in the coming weeks. Kyla Rhynes is a full time student at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester. She is from Los Angeles, California, and is currently studying Business Administration and English, with an emphasis in writing. Her interest in museums stems from a deeper passion for culture, history, artistic expression, and activism. During her first year of college, she participated in a seminar that explored the ways that museums can be used to bring communities together and enact social change. She designed her own virtual museum around the topic of colorism in the African-American community, creating didactic labels and exhibition descriptions, and putting together a collection of pieces to showcase in her galleries. In the past, she worked with students in arts and crafts classes at Frank D. Parent Middle School in Inglewood as a part of the Justin Carr’s Dare to Dream Project, and she experienced firsthand how art can bridge gaps between people and spark unlikely, constructive conversation between groups.
Daniela Ruano Orantes was born in El Salvador and moved to the United States when she was 10 years old. She currently lives in Covina, California and studies art history at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has had the opportunity to take several courses during her first year at UCLA that have sparked her interest in contemporary art. Her goals are to attend graduate school in order to receive her PhD and go on to become a curator. Jessika Ruiz is a native of Guatemala. She came to Los Angeles at the age of nine and is a longtime resident of Venice. She is a Junior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in art history with a minor in Classics. Her areas of interest include Pre-Columbian and Greco-Roman imperial art and architecture and their use in formulating and promoting the royal political, religious, and social narratives, which shaped these empires. She is also interested in museum exhibit planning, design, and implementation, as well as curatorial work, including preservation. Yeonju (Iphigenia) Seong is a Campuswide Honors student majoring in art history, music, and psychology and social behavior at University of California, Irvine (UCI). She curated a student exhibit through the Art History Undergraduate Association, for which she will be Director of Marketing. She pursues her interest in critical theory as Development Chair for UCI’s Asian Pacific Student Association, and through writing, for which she won a departmental award. Iphigenia’s activities during the coming school year include Writing and Research Specialist at UCI's Writing Center and member of the Associated Students at UCI’s Campus Climate Commission. Jolin Tran is from Orange County and currently attends University of California, Riverside (UCR) as a French and art history double major. She is most interested in the PostImpression period, particularly in the life and works of Vincent van Gogh. As a photographer specializing in portrait photography, she is also interested in studying 20th century photography as well as contemporary portrait photography. She has worked as an assistant at the Visual Resources Collection at UCR. Through her working experience, she has developed an interest in curatorial work. Penelope Uribe-Abee attends University of California, Los Angeles’s (UCLA) School of Art. She grew up regularly attending art class at organizations like Plaza de la Raza, CalArts Community Arts Partnership, and The Echo Park Film Center. Her background in community arts guides her career as an educator and artist. She is a Museum Educator at The Fowler Museum at UCLA and an instructor at the Echo Park Film Center. She has shown her work internationally and locally at the REDCAT theatre. In 2012 she co-curated and directed the final Youth Arts and Media Festival (YAMLA) with the help of several other youth. She strives to create inclusive and cost-free art environments for all.
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There are many people we would like to thank for making the 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) possible. First, we greatly appreciate the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program, of which the Summer Academy is a component. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Michael Govan, Chief Executive Officer and Wallis Annenberg Director, LACMA for advocating on behalf of the next generation of curators and would like to thank Chon Noriega, Director, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, and LACMA Adjunct Curator; and Brooke Davis Anderson, Executive Director, U.S. Biennial, Inc. (formerly the Deputy Director for Curatorial Planning at LACMA) for their vision in shaping the program. Next, we would not be here without the guidance of the selection committee members: Nancy Thomas, Senior Deputy Director for Art Administration & Collections, LACMA; Kristin Bengtson, Manager of Gallery Learning & Senior Content Specialist, LACMA; and Joe Smoke, Director of Grant Programs, City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs. LACMA staff members also contributed their time to the organization and execution of the Summer Academy. Art Preparation and Installation: Jeff Haskin; Collections Management: Alyssa Morasco; Conservation: Don Menveg; Curatorial: Stephen Little, Rebecca Morse, Franklin Sirmans, Naoko Takahatake; Director’s Office: Samara Whitesides; Education: Mary Lenihan, Amy Dillon; Exhibitions: Zoe Kahr, Sabrina Lovett, Victoria Behner; Gallery Construction: William Stahl; Photographic Services: Jonathan Urban, Laura Cherry; Publications: Jennifer McNair; Registrar: Angela Chen, Nancy Russel, Emily Saccenti; Research Library: Douglas Cordell; Web and Digital Media: Joel Ferree; and of course Debra McManus. Additionally, we appreciate Yeonsoo Chee, Marvella Muro, and their colleagues at the University of Southern California’s Pacific Asia Museum for showing us the collection and sharing their knowledge with us. Likewise, we are grateful for meeting and discussing art with John Valadez at his studio. Finally, a special thank you to our family and friends for supporting our artistic pursuits. The 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy participants, Hilary Walter and Pilar Tompkins Rivas
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